Saturday night’s UFC 127 at Sydney was supposed to determine who is next in line for a welterweight title shot. But a day later, we are no closer to answering that question.
Fans in attendance booed when it was announced that Jon Fitch and BJ Penn battled to a majority draw, two judges scoring it 28-28 while a third had it 29-28 in Fitch’s favor.
Throughout the fight, what took most by surprise was Penn’s ability to take Fitch (23-3-1, 1 NC) down and outwrestle the wrestler. It was a mixture of his takedowns, striking and dominant positions that won Penn (16-7-2) the first two rounds. Fitch’s corner informed him he needed to “go for broke” in the third round. Fitch went back to his bread and butter and Penn was on his back within fifteen seconds. Penn looked stuck there, suffering a barrage of endless short elbows and punches and almost fell victim to a head-arm triangle. Fitch grinded out an impressively dominant round that earned him a 10-8 score on two of the judges’ scorecards, securing the majority draw.
It was the second main event in as many months to end in a draw, following January’s inconclusive fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard for the world lightweight title. However, whereas there was considerable doubt after that fight as to whether the instant rematch would be made, there was an immediate consensus that that Penn vs. Fitch II is in both fighters’ imminent futures. And this sequel could make Dana White’s life a lot easier.
At the moment, the future of the welterweight championship is in doubt in a way it hasn’t been since then-champion Matt Serra was injured in the build-up to his defense against Matt Hughes in 2006. White has stated that if Georges St. Pierre successfully defends his title against Jake Shields at UFC 129, then he will vacate his title and move up to middleweight to pursue a fight against Anderson Silva. Should this happen, the UFC will have to hold a fight-off for a vacant belt for the first time since stripping lightweight champion Sean Sherk of his title in 2007 after he failed a drug test.
Finding a matchup that would be credible in this scenario seemed a daunting task with virtually all the top contenders in the division struggling to re-establish themselves after losing decisively to St. Pierre. Matters were made worse for the UFC when the match between the two contenders that hadn’t lost to the champion — Carlos Condit and Chris Lytle — was cancelled when Condit withdrew due to injury, forcing Lytle into a match with heavy underdog Brian Ebersole, which Lytle lost Saturday night. Before Condit’s and Lytle’s misfortunes, a tournament for St. Pierre’s vacant title would be possible, with the winners of UFC 127’s welterweight matches meeting in the championship match. With Condit-Lytle off the table that option was blocked off.
But the drawn contest between Fitch and Penn opens up another one. The UFC can now book the instant rematch and, should St. Pierre defeat Shields, upgrade it from final eliminator to title fight. It’s a matchup that simply makes sense as the one to crown St. Pierre’s replacement. Fitch is, on paper, the second-best fighter in the division while Penn is a former champion and is coming off two very impressive performances at the weight. Such a plan does, however, leave the UFC without a plausible contender should Shields shock the world on April 30. But that may be a risk the UFC has to take to capitalize on its latest piece of good fortune.
